Revoked Welcome: Eastern Washington’s Humanitarian Parolees Left in Limbo

Personal Stakes

Tymofii Shamota, an 18-year-old Ukrainian refugee now living in Spokane, told Rep. Michael Baumgartner at a community meeting on May 29, 2025, “My home was destroyed by a Russian missile. I’m afraid I’ll be deported now.” Shamota arrived in Eastern Washington under the Uniting for Ukraine program. For a time, he and thousands of others found safety here in the Inland Empire. But that promise of refuge is now in jeopardy.

What Just Happened

On May 30, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to terminate the CHNV humanitarian parole program. This policy had provided temporary legal status and work authorization to more than 530,000 migrants fleeing instability in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. With this ruling, deportations may proceed now, even while legal challenges are still pending. Ukrainian parolees, including Shamota, under the Uniting for Ukraine program were not included in the executive order, but they must now reapply for re-parole to remain in the U.S., in order to prove continued eligibility. This shifting process has created confusion and heightened anxiety among families who arrived lawfully seeking refuge from war, and who legitimately fear imminent deportation.

Voices from the Judiciary

"[The Court’s ruling] undervalues the devastating consequences of allowing the Government to precipitously upend the lives and livelihoods of nearly half a million noncitizens."

"It is apparent that the government seeks a stay to enable it to inflict maximum pre-decision damage."

— Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissenting

Eastern Washington in the Crosshairs

Immigrants, across all statuses, have contributed over $116 million in taxes and hold $307 million in spending power in Spokane alone. More than six percent of business owners in the city are immigrants. While humanitarian parolees represent a smaller subset, their contributions continue this larger pattern of economic impact for all of Eastern Washington.

A Community That Welcomed and Now Waits

"They didn’t do anything illegal. They followed the rules."

"They have done nothing but work as hard as they can … This is just such a grave injustice."

— Dr. Kyle Varner, AP News interview

Dr. Kyle Varner, a Spokane-based internal medicine physician and sponsor of nearly 80 parolees, primarily from Venezuela, has emerged as a leading advocate for humanitarian parole. He offered housing, guidance, and financial support to parolees, personally paying for plane tickets, helping them learn English, and find work. His efforts exemplify the type of private sponsorship and community leadership the program was designed to foster. Varner has also provided medical aid abroad and remains outspoken about the human cost of dismantling legal pathways to safety.

The Return of Fear and Deliberate Uncertainty

"They don’t want to raise their voice, because they know that if they do that, they will get deported, and they don’t want to put their life at risk."

— Kazim Abdullahi, Spokane community advocate

In Spokane, members of the Afghan refugee community are living with rising fear. Some have received conflicting or unclear notices suggesting possible deportation, despite having entered legally under parole authority. Others worry that any public visibility could jeopardize their safety or status. That anxiety is compounded by sudden policy reversals and shifting DHS guidance, a tactic of making fear and confusion central features of Trump-era immigration enforcement.

What is Humanitarian Parole?

Humanitarian parole is a temporary status granted by the U.S. government for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. It does not provide a path to permanent residency. In immigration law, “parole” refers to permission to enter or remain in the U.S. for a limited period, granted to individuals who would otherwise be inadmissible. It is not related to criminal parole and does not imply any wrongdoing by the recipient. Only parolees with work authorization are legally permitted to work. Many CHNV and Ukrainian parolees in Washington have followed all legal procedures and contributed actively to their communities.

Baumgartner's Crusade Against Sanctuary and Truth

Rep. Michael Baumgartner has not been silent. He has been a vocal and aggressive participant in the dismantling of lawful immigration protections. From his seat on the House Judiciary Committee, Baumgartner voted against an amendment to prevent ICE from detaining U.S. citizens who are mistakenly identified as undocumented, revealing a disturbing disregard for civil liberties. He has also railed against Washington State’s sanctuary policies, publicly blaming immigrants for social service costs despite clear evidence to the contrary.

In a May 28, 2025 interview with KREM 2, Baumgartner claimed, “There’s upwards of 2 million illegal migrants who are currently getting the states getting funding support for Medicaid.” This statement is demonstrably false. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid. Parolees admitted under humanitarian programs may qualify only if they were admitted for at least one year and even then must wait five years for full eligibility, unless they fall under exempt categories such as minors or pregnant women. Many receive only Emergency Medicaid. Those with work authorization pay income and FICA taxes like any other legal worker, helping sustain the very programs Baumgartner claims they drain.

This is not a misunderstanding. It is a pattern. A deliberate strategy to paint legally present immigrants as undeserving and illegal. Baumgartner’s words are not mere rhetoric; they are tools used to erode public empathy, distort law, and strip humanitarian programs of legitimacy. His actions betray the promise we made to protect those fleeing war, oppression, and catastrophe.

Following his KREM 2 interview, Baumgartner drew sharp criticism from community members, immigrant rights advocates, and local leaders who condemned his dangerous and misleading statements. In what appeared to be a defensive political maneuver, he co-authored an op-ed in the Spokesman-Review just days later, declaring, “We must honor our promise to Afghan allies and ensure their safety in the United States.” Yet this newfound concern for refugees directly contradicted his years of silence on Afghan resettlement and his broader efforts to restrict lawful humanitarian entry. The timing and tone of the op-ed suggested an attempt to deflect backlash rather than signal meaningful change. In fact, Baumgartner had never publicly supported Afghan parolees or the Afghan Allies Protection Act (H.R. 8771) prior to this article.

The Promise We Made

Now that welcome is being revoked. And not quietly. With the Supreme Court’s ruling and the Trump administration’s renewed push to end humanitarian parole, thousands of families in WA-5 face deportation. Not because they broke the law, but because the law was rewritten beneath their feet.

Rep. Baumgartner has chosen to inflame, not inform. To divide, not defend. To stand not with neighbors, but with the machinery of cruelty.

This is not who we claim to be. If Spokane is to remain a place of welcome, it will be because our communities find the courage to act, not in fear, but in remembrance of our values, in defense of our neighbors, and in hope for a more just future.